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Month: October 2017

Hi, I have been getting asked a lot for recommendations on where to go in Tokyo so decided to write a quick post.

Sushi:
1) Sushi Yoshitake was hands down the best meal of my life. It is pricey (~200 per head before drinks) but I cannot say enough good things about it. Was a long, 3 hour meal., and everything was perfect. My comparison for most of the pieces was “is this the best tuna/uni/etc” I have ever had? You need a reservation at least a month in advance and probably longer (Thanks Steph, XOXO)

2) Sushi Kuwano: 2 michellin stars, everything was great. I really liked how unusual some of the pieces were. If I’m eating sushi in Tokyo I want to eat some stuff I’ve never seen before and they were the most different.

Other bomb spots off the top of my head in no order: Kube, kanasecka, sushi shin, taku, Umi

Tsukiji fish market is totally worth seeing too. If you are prepared to get up and wait at 3am for Sushi Dai, it’s supposed to be some truly elite sushi for a much more affordable price ( maybe ~$30/head? ). If you are not prepared to wait , just stumbling into any random spot I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Ramen

1) Kagari was clear number one. They had three kinds of ramen, and they were the 1-3 kinds of ramen I have ever had. The chicken was actually my favorite.

Otherwise there are a bunch of great spots. Ramen Street at Tokyo train station is convenient especially if you are on the go.

Interesting option: at Kikanbo you get to choose your spice level and Szechuan spice level. This was pretty entertaining when my friend decided to go double maximum spicy.

I really wanted to try saikoro because I love mackeral, but never made the hike since it was 30 minutes out of the way. I hear it’s incredible.

Butagami was hands down the best tonkatsu I have ever had. And just trying to eat as much Japanese beef as possible is probably a good idea, it’s like 10% of the price as it is in the US. Even the stuff in supermarkets for $10/package looked insane.

Onsen:A 1-2 day trip to Hakone for a stay at the Onsen is very much recommended. I believe these three are probably all expensive, but I never had to research prices since O’Dwyer won that EPT ( heyyyyyyo) , but Kinnotake, Hakone Ginyu (best facility),or Gorakadan (best food and service)

Also in Hakone you can do the very cool Open Air Museum, and get to see Mt. Fuji. The Open Air Museum had an amount of Picasso.

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Where to stay?

I just look at Chase Sapphire points and they have always had a hotel on mega sale. Book early so the concierge can start making reservations for you. I think if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve on travel/hotels/etc you get an extra 50%. I have gotten some v good deals here on 4-5 star hotels without very much effort.

Shopping: Harajuku street is really famous and cool. Isetan was a surprisingly wonderful department store. They have a high end grocery store in the basement. Pillow shopping here was insane, they measure your neck, you choose what it is made out of (I got charcoal which is supposed to be good for allergies), firmness, etc etc. Also my sources tell me you can get a really hot deal on cashmere sweaters here.